ONTARIO -- Shoppers looking for fresh garlic in most Canadian grocery chains seem to find only one supplier these days -- China. And unfortunately, the cloves of the popular herb often are dried out and lacking flavor from being shipped such a long distance.
But those lucky enough to have access to a farmers market can purchase Canadian-grown garlic. And growers know they can be sure of getting a decent monetary return on their product when Canadians opt to buy garlic grown locally.
"China has historically been the largest supplier of garlic to Canada since 2001," explains Mark Wales of Aylmer, Ontario, garlic grower and vice-president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
Before that, the Ontario crop (95 percent of overall production in Canada) was in season between July and December, then California, Mexico or Argentina would supply garlic during the winter months.
"Then in 2001, China proceeded to dump their garlic in what I call a predatory dumping at well below the Canadian price because they wanted to destroy the industry here," Wales says.
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He says as a result, the Canadian garlic business lost producers and now has become a cottage industry, with producers selling at farmers markets, festivals and at the farm gate.
Tim Noxon, an organic garlic grower in Prince Edward County in Ontario, says he can't keep up with the demand for his produce.
"And other farmers say they just can't grow enough local garlic and their customers say they really notice the difference with the homegrown."
Calling garlic one of his "top 10 favorite ingredients," Chris Haworth, executive chef at a restaurant in Burlington, Ontario, says he stocks up for the winter on the locally grown garlic in September or October each year.
He admits it is more expensive than the Chinese garlic, "but the difference in quality is phenomenal."
"The Chinese variety doesn't have the sweet taste of the local."
Haworth says with the large amount of garlic that his restaurant meals require he stores it in a cool dark place at a temperature about zero.
He says consumers who want to keep local garlic throughout the winter should wrap the cloves in parchment paper with an outer layer of aluminum foil. Keep in a cool but not refrigerated space.
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Noxon says he predicts that as more Canadians want quality in their food, locally grown garlic will increase in supply.
And the grower adds that when he looks "at that stuff from China, it appears one of the reasons they have chosen the soft neck variety of garlic is because it stacks very well."
"It doesn't have a pointy top, it's very flat on top and they can stack the garlic in rows in mesh bags. They can get more in small spaces."
But when it comes to whether shoppers will choose lower prices for less quality, Noxon says, "We really need to vote with our wallets. If people don't spend money on the things that they really value and support their communities, they are going to lose them."
